Saturday too

A rare weekend post from me, but I didn’t want to get behind on gifts for knitters, or not tell you what Luis is hanging today.  (I’ve had a few emails that imply that there’s more than one knitter out there who’s making one a day, in conjunction with what I post, and I didn’t want to let them down if they were on a system.) I’ve not yet recovered from the mitten debacle, and the fastest way to fix that is to knit, rather than tell you about it, so let’s cut to the chase, eh?

What’s Luis hanging today?

Midge!

midge 2014-12-06

When asked why, he just said “Pim pom, pim pom” which is what he says when the waves rock the boat to and fro.  He’s too little yet to do any real sailing, but he does like to go out, bob around in the sunshine and then motor back in, and this boat has been such a big part our family this last year that I couldn’t leave it off.

midgelou 2014-12-06

To make our Midge ornament, I messed around with this pattern a little bit.  I altered the colours (to match Midge, it goes without saying) and since my ornament was going to be flat, not something that would stand up, I took out two of the rows that make the base.  (I don’t need no stinking bases.) My version was made of fingering weight wool on 2mm needles, so there was no way that a pipe cleaner (thick or otherwise) was going into the mast.  An unbent and cut paperclip is rather securely sewn in instead.

Gifts for Knitters, Day 6

Quick and dirty – here’s another good idea.  Knitting needles come in lots of sizes, and the sizes aren’t always printed on them, and it’s pretty important to know what you’re dealing with. Enter the humble needle gauge.  We’ve all got a couple, but don’t let that stop you from buying another one.  The more them merrier, that’s the rule for gauges. (It ups the odds that your knitter will be able to put their hands on one. It’s one of the things you see them ripping up that drawer trying to find.   There’s lots of different kinds, so I think if you poke around, you’ll find the perfect thing.  If your knitter is a purist, try this plain wooden one. If your knitter’s American*, this seller has some cute ones in the shape of your knitters home state. (Knit free or die.) There’s some beautiful ones that are nothing short of art.  Try this one with swallows, or hedgehogs, (actually, she has a lot of cute ones) or a dinosaur or this one that’s a  brooch, if you think your knitter would wear it.  This one’s a pretty pendant,  and this one is too, and this one (are you sensing a theme?) is a tardis. If you’re looking to kick your game up a notch?  This one is gold.

*Note re: There are, in the world, presently two needle systems, and gauges reflect that. The US needle system (a numbered system) and the Metric system (that one is measured) for pretty much everybody else. Most Canadian knitters will prefer metric,  most European/Australian are going to prefer metric, and most American knitters will prefer the US sizes. If you don’t know your knitters preference, then it’s best to get a gauge that is numbered for both.